The invention relates to fuel oil nozzles used in boilers or steam generators in which oil is burned to heat water to form steam. More particularly, the present invention is a fuel oil nozzle wherein a gas atomizes the oil and the method of atomizing the oil with a gas for high efficiency burning and for reducing the polluting affluent gases from the burning.
Prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,517,496; 1,560,025; 2,514,581; 3,100,084; 3,232,536 and 3,456,933 are known to applicant.
In the prior art, compressed air, natural gas and steam have been used in fuel oil nozzles to atomize the fuel oil. Steam has the disadvantage of providing moisture and a cooling effect but it is the most practical of the three gases because it is the least expensive and it is usually more easily available. The prior art atomizing nozzles generally require the steam to be of a larger volume than the fuel oil and of about the same pressure as the fuel oil and this results in a high volume of steam having a cooling effect on the burning oil so as to reduce the efficiency and results in a large volume of affluent discharge gases that cause air pollution.